OCI to restart Texas methanol plant in June

HOUSTON (ICIS)--A Texas methanol plant that was mothballed in 2004 should be restarted some time in June, sources close to the facility said on Thursday.

The Beaumont plant’s manager did not return a phone call immediately, but another source said the expected 750,000 tonne/year facility would begin producing methanol beginning on 8 June.

Owned by Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), an international nitrogen fertilizer producer and engineering and construction company headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, the plant began producing ammonia in December 2011. OCI Beaumont has a capacity of 250,000 tonnes/year of anhydrous ammonia, according to the company.

In April, Methanex said it signed an offtake agreement to buy a significant portion of the methanol produced at the plant. Methanex said the plant would be restarted in June.

In May 2011, a group that included backers from Texas, Europe and Egypt bought the mothballed plant from Eastman Chemical, saying they would they would spend $65m (€53m) in acquisition and startup costs.

Eastman said in corporate documents that it reported a gain of $15m (€12m) from the sale of the Beaumont plant.